The present invention generally relates to computer systems and in particular to electronic mail (e-mail) in computer systems. Electronic mail (e-mail) is extensively utilized as a professional, educational, and personal mode of communication. E-mail is a method of composing, sending, and/or receiving messages over an electronic communication system. E-mail messages may be sent over the Internet or within an intranet system which allows users within the network of an organization to e-mail each other. An e-mail may be sent to a single recipient, or multiple recipients, simultaneously.
Several problems exist with sending and/or forwarding a single e-mail to multiple recipients when a reply is expected. When e-mail is sent to a large set of people in a forwarded e-mail chain, recipients often reply within the body of the “original” e-mail message, and then continue forwarding the e-mail. The sender may color coordinate or change the font of the response; however, this is not always the case. When an e-mail is forwarded to multiple individuals (or groups) the responses within the e-mail message may become cluttered and confusing to sort through. The end recipient may receive a message that is no longer credible because of inadvertent (or intentional) erroneous manipulation. Current e-mail technology does not allow the recipient of an e-mail message which has been forwarded multiple times, to view which author sent a part of a message, and at what the (date) the author included the information.